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Amphiphilic Polymers: Self-Assembly and Applications

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2018) | Viewed by 20640

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Zibiao Li

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Guest Editor

Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
Interests: biomaterials; materials chemistry; design and synthesis of biodegradable polymer; polymeric self-assemblies; biomedical materials; tissue engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Well-defined amphiphilic polymers consisting of hydrophilic ("water-loving") and hydrophobic ("water-hating") components are at the forefront of smart material research due to their high complexity in structure design, excellent control in molecular self-assembly, and versatile functionality in material engineering and medical sciences. With the recent advances in controlled/living radical polymerization methods, combined with various coupling techniques, a large array of new functional amphiphilic polymers having various architectures such as block, grafted, cyclic, star-shape, dendritic, comb-like and hyperbanched have been developed, and their smart self-assemblies, ranging from colloidal systems, including structured Janus nanoparticles, micelles, vesicles, hydrogels and phase-transit materials, to engineered surface patterns have been unveiled. More importantly, these sophisticated materials show high performance in various applications, such as in advanced delivery carriers, tissue engineering, template-directed colloidal self-assembly, surface modification, and many other applications throughout industry. This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for the scientific community to share their latest developments and discoveries in the synthetic strategies, mechanism underlying smart self-assemblies, and the emerging applications of functional amphiphilic polymers in different fields.

Dr. Zibiao Li
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Synthetic strategies of copolymer with new architecture
Molecular self-assembly
Surface functionalization
Amphiphilic polymer
Polymer grafting and conjugation
Polymer self-assembly and applications
Biopolymer stereocomplexes
Stimuli-responsive polymer
Biodegradable polymer
Host-guest chemistry
Hybrid polymer
Polymeric Janus materials
Water soluble polymer
Polymeric colloidal system
Polymeric shape memory materials
Block copolymer as surfactant
Functional polymers with biological activity
Block copolymer thin film
Block copolymer templated mesoporous materials

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 3132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synergic Activity Against MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Growth of Nanocurcumin-Encapsulated and Cisplatin-Complexed Nanogels

by Ngoc The Nguyen, Ngoc Nhat Thanh Nguyen, Ngo The Nhan Tran, Phung Ngan Le, Thi Bich Tram Nguyen, Ngoc Hoa Nguyen, Long Giang Bach, Vu Nguyen Doan, Ha Le Bao Tran, Van Thu Le and Ngoc Quyen Tran

Molecules 2018, 23(12), 3347; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23123347 - 18 Dec 2018

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4828

Abstract

Nanogel-based systems loaded with single anticancer drugs display miscellaneous effectiveness in tumor remission, gradually circumventing mutation and resistance in chemotherapy. Hence, the existence of dual-drug delivered nano-sized systems has been contemporaneous with drug development and preceded the conventional-dose chemotherapy. Among outstanding synergistic drug nanoplatforms, thermosensitive copolymer heparin-Pluronic F127 (Hep-F127) co-delivering cisplatin (CDDP) and curcumins (Cur) (Hep-F127/CDDP/Cur) has emerged as a notable candidate for temperature-responsive drug delivery. The procedure was based on the entrapment of curcumin into the hydrophobic core of bio-degradable co-polymer Hep-F127 while the hydrophilic drug CDDP subsequently conjugated to the backbone heparin to form the core-shell structure. The copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometry, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), to corroborate the successful synthesis and via HPLC along with AES-ICP to evaluate the high drug loading along with a controllable release from the nano-gels. A well-defined nano-shell with size in the 129.3 ± 3.8 nm size range could enhance higher the efficacy of the conjugated-CDDP to Hep-F127 than that of single doses. Moreover, the considerable amount of dual-drug released from thermosensitive nanogels between different conditions (pH = 7.4 and pH = 5.5) in comparison to CDDP from Hep-F127 partially indicated the significantly anti-proliferative ability of Hep-F127/CDDP/Cur to the MCF-7 cell line. Remarkably, drug testing in a xenograft model elucidates the intricate synergism of co-delivery in suppressing tumor growth, which remedies some of the problems affecting in cancer chemotherapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Polymers: Self-Assembly and Applications)

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15 pages, 6623 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hierarchical Self-Assembled Structures from Diblock Copolymer Mixtures by Competitive Hydrogen Bonding Strength

by Tzu-Chun Tseng and Shiao-Wei Kuo

Molecules 2018, 23(9), 2242; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23092242 - 03 Sep 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4090

Abstract

In this work we prepared poly(styrene–b–vinylphenol) (PS-b-PVPh) by sequential anionic living polymerization and poly(ethylene oxide-b-4-vinylpyridine) (PEO-b-P4VP) by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) by using poly(ethylene oxide) 4-cyano-4-(phenylcarbonothioylthio)pentanoate (PEO-SC(S)Ph) as a macroinitiator with two hydrogen bonded acceptor groups. When blending with disordered PEO-b-P4VP diblock copolymer, we found the order-order self-assembled structure transition from lamellar structure for pure PS-b-PVPh to cylindrical, worm-like, and finally to PEO crystalline lamellar structures. Taking the advantage of the ΔK effect from competitive hydrogen bonding strengths between PVPh/P4VP and PVPh/PEO domains, it could form the hierarchical self-assembled morphologies such as core–shell cylindrical nanostructure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Polymers: Self-Assembly and Applications)

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11 pages, 2308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Hydrophilicity and Inducing Bone-Like Apatite Formation on PPBES by Polydopamine Coating for Biomedical Application

by Chengde Liu, Yizheng Li, Jinyan Wang, Cheng Liu, Wentao Liu and Xigao Jian

Molecules 2018, 23(7), 1643; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23071643 - 05 Jul 2018

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3679

Abstract

Copoly(phthalazinone biphenyl ether sulfone) (PPBES) as a commercially available polyarylether is a promising orthopaedic implant material because its mechanical properties are similar to bone. However, the bioinert surface of polyarylether causes some clinical problems after implantation, which limits its application as an implant material. In this study, the surface of PPBES was modified by a biomineralization method of polydopamine-assisted hydroxyapatite formation (pHAF) to enhance its cytocompatibility. Polydopamine (PDA) coating, inspired by the adhesion mechanism of mussels, can readily endow PPBES with high hydrophilicity and the ability to integrate via the bone-like apatite coating. PPBES and PDA-coated PPBES were evaluated by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurement. The water contact angles were reduced significantly after coating with PDA. PDA was successfully synthesized on PPBES and more PDA was obtained by increasing the temperature. Bone-like apatite on PPBES (apatite-coated PPBES) was confirmed by SEM and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cytotoxicity of pristine PPBES and apatite-coated PPBES were characterized by culturing of NIH-3T3 cells. Bone-like apatite synthesized by pHAF could further enhance cytocompatibility in vitro. This study provides a promising alternative for biofunctionalized PPBES with improved cytocompatibility for bone implant application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Polymers: Self-Assembly and Applications)

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Review

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27 pages, 4677 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Self-Assembly and Applications of Amphiphilic Hybrid POSS Copolymers

by Hong Chi, Mingyue Wang, Yiting Xiao, Fuke Wang and Joshy K.S

Molecules 2018, 23(10), 2481; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23102481 - 27 Sep 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5785

Abstract

Understanding the mechanism of molecular self-assembly to form well-organized nanostructures is essential in the field of supramolecular chemistry. Particularly, amphiphilic copolymers incorporated with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) have been one of the most promising materials in material science, engineering, and biomedical fields. In this review, new ideas and research works which have been carried out over the last several years in this relatively new area with a main focus on their mechanism in self-assembly and applications are discussed. In addition, insights into the unique role of POSSs in synthesis, microphase separation, and confined size were encompassed. Finally, perspectives and challenges related to the further advancement of POSS-based amphiphilics are discussed, followed by the proposed design considerations to address the challenges that we may face in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Polymers: Self-Assembly and Applications)

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